


(yet to be named)

by vaxildamn



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, I have no idea where this is going okay, M/M, Rated M for later Chapters, Renaissance Faires, Trans Male Character, Trans Vax'ildan, but it will go somewhere, but like maybe i'll attempt some more Plot, to the bedroom eventually
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-04
Updated: 2017-06-25
Packaged: 2018-11-08 19:54:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11088789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vaxildamn/pseuds/vaxildamn
Summary: Gilmore develops a crush on a customer at the renaissance faire. Vax can't get that incense seller out of his head.





	1. All's Faire in Love

**Author's Note:**

> This whole fic exists because someone suggested a fic where Gilmore sees Vax tutoring Kynan and, through a series of incorrect assumptions, ends up texting Kima frantically "can a twink also be a dilf????". So that's where it started and I have no idea where it's going from there lmao. Wish me luck!

“I can’t believe you talked me into doing this,” Sherri groans, struggling to center a wooden table inside the tent alongside her boss, Gilmore. Coming to the Renaissance Faire was his idea, and he insisted that the sorts of people who go here would be very into handmade incense and candles, and herbs, and the other various home-remedy/apothecary things that they stock in their little shop.

 

“It’ll be _fun_ , Sherri! Just give it a chance.” He tosses her a pile of fabrics, deep blues and purples with beading and golden embroidery, that seem to match those with which he’s draped himself. “And put your outfit on.”

 

“I’m not wearing that, Gilmore. It looks like the wizard version of a velour sweatsuit.”

 

Gilmore feigns offense, and then rolls his eyes and waves a hand as if to dismiss the issue. He has a lot more setting up to do, and not a lot of time to do it, so he grabs his banner and hangs it over the front of the tent on his own. _Gilmore’s Glorious Goods_. It has a nice ring to it. Maybe he’ll rename the actual store.

 

___

 

Business, despite the doubts of certain employees, is booming. Even in the sweltering heat, there’s a nearly constant stream of customers coming in, buying oils and herb packs, all in costume. Gilmore is set up directly across from the archery and axe- and knife-throwing booths, and when the rush does die down a bit, he finds himself watching those stations. At this point, the crowds are all at the jousting match, and only a few stragglers pass by. Shaun is about to see if he has any cell phone service out here when a stranger catches his eye: A man in all black, wearing a few pieces of leather armor, with hair down to his mid-back. He’s with a boy who looks to be in his early teens, and is leading him over to the knife-throwing area.

 

Shaun’s eyes travel down, and then back up, the man’s slender frame, and he finds himself leaning forward on his counter to get a better look. His new stranger kneels behind the boy - his younger brother? son? - and helps him position his arm before letting go and watching the kid chuck the knife at the wall, against which it clatters noisily. The kid winces, and Shaun watches as the man consoles him, and takes a knife to demonstrate. He positions himself, making sure the boy is watching closely, takes a deep breath, and throws. The knife makes a satisfying noise as it sinks deep into the wooden wall, relatively close to the painted target, and the boy’s jaw drops to the floor. After a few more rounds, the man claps his young counterpart on the shoulder and starts walking in Shaun’s direction.

 

Gilmore bolts into an upright position and spins around, pretending to arrange something on the table at the back of the tent until he hears the voices getting closer and closer. He fixes his hair and puts on his best smile before turning to his new customers.

 

“Hello!” he grins, his arms spreading dramatically. “Welcome to Gilmore’s Glorious Goods! Let me know if you need anything at all!” He nearly melts when the stranger smiles at him.

 

“Will do.” He walks around the tent with the boy, picking up various items, keeping some, pointing some out. They stay for a while before coming up with their selections - a couple of oils, and the boy picked up a nice candle. Gilmore tries not to eavesdrop too much, but he catches one part of the conversation as they approach the counter.

 

“I wish I could stay with you _forever_ ,” says the boy, leaning into a sort of side-hug with the man.

 

“I know, Kynan,” he says, smiling down at the boy, “but I’ve only got you for the weekend. You gotta go back to your mom’s.”

 

_Okay, so definitely his dad. But divorced? God, but probably straight…_

 

They set their purchases down, and Gilmore starts to ring them up.

 

“You’ve got a great shop,” says the man. “Is your name actually Gilmore or is that a character for the faire?”

 

“It is actually my name,” Shaun laughs. “My last name, but it has a nice ring to it.”

 

“I like it.” He smiles again as he pays and Gilmore loses his train of thought for a moment.

 

“Well, if you’re from the area, you and your boy are welcome to visit the _actual_ store.” Gilmore digs out a business card, and slides it into the bag with their things, flashing another smile at the man.

 

“Definitely.” The stranger - shit, he didn't ask his name - gives him another smile and then turns to leave. “What’s next, kiddo? Turkey legs?”

 

___

 

Vax drops his Little Brother back at his mother’s place, giving him a big hug and making sure he has all of his souvenirs. “You call if you need me alright, Ky?” Kynan nods, and sighs before walking back to his house. They were matched up at the local LGBT youth center for the mentorship program and Kynan practically worships Vax, thinks he’s the coolest guy on the planet. He probably has a little bit of a crush too, but that’s beside the point. Vax watches as Kynan waves from the porch and goes through the front door, and then starts the drive home, that Gilmore guy still on his mind.

 

___

 

Shaun is back home, laying in bed, with that long-haired customer still on his mind and his phone in his hand.

 

_Kima, I need your help._

 

_???_

 

_Don’t judge me._

 

_no promises (ally says hi)_

 

_Okay. So, there was this guy at the renaissance faire. (Give her a big hug for me; I miss her.)_

 

_oh my god_

 

_Kima... Can someone be a twink and a DILF at the same time._

 

_OH MY GOD_

 

_GIL_

 

_NO_

 

He groans and puts his phone back down, burying his face in his pillow. He’ll be over it in a few days, he tells himself. Just a few days.

 

___

  

Vax is laying in bed now too, his twin sister and her dog piled onto him.

 

“So are you going to go see him?” Vex asks excitedly, practically bouncing.

 

“I don’t know! Wouldn’t that be- wouldn’t it be weird??”

 

“No! He _invited_ you!”

 

“It’s his job to get customers, Vex! He wasn’t flirting!”

 

“You don’t know that.”

 

Vax covers his face with a pillow and groans. “He was _so cute_ , Vex…”

 

“I know, darling.”

 

“I’m gonna die.”

 

“I know.”

 

"... I'm gonna go see him ..."

 

He can practically hear the smirk in her voice. "I know."


	2. Waiting For The Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gilmore and Vax try not to seem too eager.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I'm taking a billion years to write this. Turns out writing explicit fics is way easier than writing ones with plots!

It’s been about a week and a half since the renaissance faire, and Shaun’s almost got a neck injury from the way his head spins whenever the bell on the shop’s door rings. He pulls out his phone to text Kima and Allura some more, ready to bemoan the fact that he’ll never meet this guy again, when the bell rings. He sighs and looks up, ready to be disappointed, and instead drops his phone over the edge of the counter in surprise.

 

“Oh!” He tries to gain some composure back and puts on his charming-a-customer voice. “You’ve returned!” 

 

His stranger smiles sheepishly at him and Gilmore swears he sees him blush for a second as he holds up a broken amber bottle. “My sister’s dog, uh, knocked it off the table.” In truth, Vax had left it rather precariously placed on purpose so that he could have a reason to come to the store soon without seeming desperate. “Do you have more of the lavender oil?”

 

“Of course! Come, come,” he grins, walking out from behind the counter, trying to seem casual as he stoops to pick his phone back up, and leading his customer to the corner of the shop where he keeps the scented oils. His heart skips a beat when he sees the rainbow bracelet around that slender wrist. “They’re just over here.” He pauses for a while before clearing his throat. “I, uh, I never caught your name last time.”

 

“Oh!” He brushes a strand of hair out of his face as he turns back to Gilmore, the bottle of oil in his hand. “I- I’m Vax’ildan.” The two walk over to the counter, and Shaun starts ringing him up. “I didn’t see any dragons blood incense, by the way. Do you, uh, stock that at all?”

 

“Yes! But we’re fresh out…”

 

“Ah.”

 

“We’re restocking soon, though! I could-” Gilmore clears his throat again. “I could call you when the next batch is ready?”

 

Vax beams at him, and Shaun has to keep himself from staring. “I’d love that. Thank you, Gilmore.”

 

_ He remembered my name!  _ Shaun is speechless for a second and a look of panic crosses Vax’s face.

 

“It… It was Gilmore right?”

 

“What? Oh! Yes! Yes, sorry, I just, uh-” Gilmore nervously smooths down his silk, purple button-up. “Why don’t you write down your phone number and I’ll give you call when we get that dragons blood in?” He has to hold in his excitement as Vax’ildan grabs a pen from the basket on the counter and scribbles down his number and name on a scrap of paper.

 

“Can’t wait to hear from you,” Vax calls as he’s walking out the door, and cringes at himself as he says it.

 

“It was lovely to see you again, Vax’ildan!”

 

Gilmore whips out his phone as soon as Vax is out of sight.

 

_ SHERRI WE NEED TO MAKE MORE DRAGONS BLOOD!!! RIGHT NOW!!! _

 

___

 

 

Vax leans against the door as soon as he’s inside the apartment and sighs, his eyes closed, before the sound of his sister’s voice startles him back to reality.

 

“So, how’d it go?”

 

Vax bites his lip and smiles at the floor. “I gave him my number.”

 

Vex jumps up from the couch and startles Trinket in the process. “Oh my  _ god _ !!”

 

“But just for business things! They were out of dragons blood incense and-”

 

“Don’t you already have a ton of packs of that scent?”

 

“Well, yeah, but-”

 

“Oh my god.”

 

“But it was the only one they were out of! And I … I wanted a reason to come back.” Vex rolls her eyes and laughs at him as he runs his fingers through his hair and flops face-down onto the couch and mutters something about how fucked he is. 

 

___

 

 

“So you’ve only met this guy twice?” Kima asks around a mouthful of popcorn as she sits on the floor in Shaun’s living room, some movie playing quietly in the background. “And you’re already being creepy?” 

 

Allura elbows her.

 

“It’s not creepy, Gilmore. It’s sweet.”

 

“No, she’s right,” he laughs. “It’s a little bit creepy. I told him we’d have it in stock ‘soon’ and it’ll be weird if I call him two days later. It’ll seem…”

 

“Desperate?”

 

“I was going to say eager, but thank you, Kima.”

 

Shaun leans back against the massive pillow propped up against the couch (why he never actually uses the sofa is beyond him, really, but he always ends up on the floor) and sighs. “I think I’ll call him in like… five days?”

 

“I think that’s wise,” Allura says as she pats him on the arm. Without even looking down, she snatches something from his hands and pockets it. “Stop staring at his phone number, dear.”

 

___

 

 

The next few days crawl by for Vax, and any time his phone buzzes his heart starts pounding. Vex actually laughs so hard at him that she has to sit down when he pulls his phone out of his pocket so quickly that he loses his grip and flings it across the room and into the wall, spooking Trinket. 

 

When his screen finally lights up with a local number that he doesn’t know, he’s smacks Vex’s arm and practically shoves the phone in her face. 

 

“IT’S HIM!”

 

“Then  _ answer it _ , dumbass!”

 

“Right!” Vax clears his throat and walks out of the room to pace around the kitchen. “H-hello?”

 

_ “Vax’ildan? It’s Shaun... Shaun Gilmore.” _

 

“Yeah! Hi!” Vax is leaned up against one of the walls, grinning from ear to ear. 

 

_ “Hi.” _

 

There’s a moment of silence and Vax starts pacing again.

 

_ “I, uh- I have that dragon’s blood you wanted!” _

 

“Great! Can I come by to-  _ FUCK! _ ”

 

_ “Excuse me?!” _

 

“No, no, no!  _ Shit _ , I just- I stubbed my toe  _ really _ hard!” Vax’s face has gone red now and he’s glad that Gilmore isn’t here to see him like this. “Fuck, that hurts!” He hisses under his breath.

 

_ “Ice that, and then come see me, okay? We’re open until 7.” _

 

“I’ll be over soon!” He’s pretty sure the shopkeep can hear the wince in his voice. “Thank you, Gilmore.”

 

_ “See you soon, Vax’ildan.” _

 

He hangs up and bangs his head against the wall.

 

“That bad, huh?” Vex is standing in the doorway with a look of pity on her face.

 

“Sort of…” He runs his fingers through his hair a few times, takes a deep breath, and reaches for his keys on the counter. “How do I look?”

 

“Like me.”

 

“It hasn’t been funny for twenty five years, Vex! It’s not gonna start being funny now,” he hollers as he walks out the door, but as always, there’s a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth and he lets himself laugh as he walks towards his car.


End file.
